The Fruits of Pitch Wars

There’s some Pitch Wars excitement in the air this week!

For those who aren’t familiar with it, Pitch Wars is a mentoring program where more experienced authors, editors, or industry interns mentor unagented writers. Mentors, either solo or in pairs, read queries, request full manuscripts, choose their mentees, and offer suggestions on how mentees can improve their manuscripts and make them shine. Mentors also help edit their mentees’ pitches and query letters.

Months of revision culminate in an agent showcase in which the pitch and beginning of each mentee’s manuscript is featured on the Pitch Wars blog. This year, over one hundred agents are participating, and…the agent showcase starts this week!!!

Today, I’m reflecting on what Pitch Wars has done for me and for others in the MG debut world this year. Read about amazing writers with ties to Pitch Wars, and their fantastic books publishing this year. Don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

 

Jeanne Zulick Ferruolo was a Pitch Wars mentee in 2016 and received an offer from her agent during the agent showcase. Jeanne has this advice for writers who are considering entering Pitch Wars: “Do it! I’ve never regretted entering any writing contest because, regardless of the outcome, my manuscript has improved each time. Pitch Wars is a unique experience because you get the advice of some pretty amazing and talented writers who provide feedback on the whole novel. I can’t say enough about how incredibly talented and generous my mentors were and how PitchWars changed everything for me!”  Jeanne’s debut novel, RUBY IN THE SKY, publishes TODAY, February 5, 2019!

 

Cory Leonardo was also a 2016 mentee whose debut MG novel, THE SIMPLE ART OF FLYING, will release in the U.S. on February 12, 2019. Cory says, “Pitch Wars was my foot in the publishing door. But it was also where I learned how to edit and where I subsequently found the writing community and some of the most wonderful friends in the world. I was hesitant to enter. I had so many questions and concerns, but I did it anyway. And it changed everything. ENTER.”

 

 

The Pitch Wars 2016 mentee class also included Lisa Moore Ramee, the author of A GOOD KIND OF TROUBLE (March 12, 2019). When asked about her experience with Pitch Wars, Lisa said, “Although I didn’t get an agent through Pitch Wars, what I got was more important. A community of people who buoyed me when I was depressed over another rejection and cheered every request for pages. It helped me by showing me I wasn’t alone. PW is for people who are good. (Really good-I’ve seen my fellow mentees work) but still need help. Their manuscript needs help/guidance. And they (the potential mentee) are ready to WORK. Don’t enter thinking you won’t almost entirely rewrite your book. The whole point is to revise. It’s hard.”

 

Naomi Milliner was a 2013 Pitch Wars mentee. Her MG debut, SUPER JAKE AND THE KING OF CHAOS, releases May 7, 2019. Naomi says, “The whole experience not only improved my ms., but gave me confidence to start subbing it around. My mentor was fantastic, and we remain close today. She is still someone I consider both a friend and advisor.“ When asked to give advice to writers considering Pitch Wars, she says, “Do it! Do it before you lose your nerve. If you don’t get picked the first time around? Do it again! You will learn a lot in the process and, UNTIL you are chosen as one of the lucky mentees, your queries and elevator pitches will become stronger as a result. So it’s a win-win! Nothing to lose.”

 

Nicole Melleby is a 2018 Pitch Wars mentor. Nicole says, “Pitch Wars was a way to help uplift other writers in the way the community in which I surrounded myself with helped uplift me (I particularly was looking for an LGBTQ mentee to help!) DO IT! NO RISK NO REWARD! FINDING A COMMUNITY IS EVERYTHING!”  Nicole’s debut, HURRICANE SEASON, publishes May 7, 2019.

 

 

 

Gail D. Villanueva, author of MY FATE ACCORDING TO THE BUTTERFLY (July 30, 2019), was a 2017 mentor and a current committee member and technology director. Asked how Pitch Wars helped her, Gail says, “being picked gave me the confidence that there IS room in publishing for very Filipino books like mine. I’ve met wonderful people in the mentors’ group and they’re now my closest friends today 🙂 And let’s not forget the community—Pitch Wars has the most supportive writing community there is!”  To advise writers thinking about entering Pitch Wars, she says, “Take part in the Twitter hashtag (#pitchwars) that lead up to submission day if you can! I know folks who have met their best critique partners just making friends on the hashtag. Pitch Wars is more than just a mentoring program—it’s also a community.”

 

Sofiya Pasternack was a 2017 mentee who found her agent through Pitch Wars. Her MG debut, ANYA AND THE DRAGON, will publish September 24, 2019. Sofiya advises potential mentees: “Keep in mind that you’re querying a TINY sample of readers (the mentors). If none of them requests your work, it DOES NOT mean your story is no good! It just means you haven’t found the right reader yet! Keep trying, keep querying, keep charging forward! Take advantage of the community you form with other mentee-hopefuls!”

 

Jennifer Camiccia, author of THE MEMORY KEEPER (October 15, 2019), says that Pitch Wars “helped me learn how to revise and polish a manuscript. And it ultimately helped me get an agent.”  She advises writers considering Pitch Wars: “Do it!! Just the act of entering is a step toward taking your writing career seriously. Which is not always easy when you’re an introverted writer.”

 

 

 

Kristin Thorsness, a 2014 mentee, is the author of THE WICKED TREE (October 2019). She says, “Having my book chosen for PW gave me SO MUCH confidence. It was the first time I had shown my story to strangers, and the whole experience was incredibly empowering. My PW book wasn’t the one that got me an agent and book deal in the end, but I truly believe the support, encouragement, and collective knowledge of the PW community is what enabled me to keep writing (and querying, and querying, and querying…) until I got there.” She advises writers: “Absolutely do it. Whether or not you get in, the PW community is among the most supportive and encouraging groups out there. It’s been 5 years, and I’m still friends with so many writers I met through Pitch Wars.”

 

Kim Long has been a Pitch Wars mentor from 2015-2018. Her MG debut, LEXI MAGILL AND THE TELEPORTATION TOURNAMENT, will publish October 1, 2019. Kim says Pitch Wars has been instrumential in “introducing me to so many other writers who have become CPs, beta readers, and friends. Do it! It’s a fantastic way to become a part of the writing community.”

 

Last but not least, Remy Lai and I became friends as 2017 Pitch Wars mentees. We commiserated and encouraged each other through the agent showcase, when we both received offers, and through 2018, when we sold our debut novels! Remy lives half a world away, but we still manage to connect no matter the time zone. I couldn’t be more delighted that her prose/graphic novel hybrid, PIE IN THE SKY, shares its debut year with MIDSUMMER’S MAYHEM. Our novels both involve baking, family, and finding your place in the world.

  

Remy and I became a mentoring team this year to our wonderful mentee, Kathryn Powers, and her fantastic, fun, and furry MG novel, FERRET OF THE CARIBBEAN.

 

This is not a comprehensive list, but a large sampling of MG writers with 2019 debut novels and Pitch Wars connections. For many writers, Pitch Wars has led to some pretty wonderful things: greatly improved manuscripts, agent offers, and even book deals. But even for those for whom agents and book deals don’t come right away, Pitch Wars gives writers an invaluable community of friends who help them through the difficult but rewarding process of navigating the publishing world.

 

Giveaway Time!

Enter the Rafflecopter below to win a PREORDER of one of the TEN incredible Pitch Wars-related middle grade novels below! There will be TEN winners getting one book each, so be sure to tell your friends!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway